South Africa Rules that Online Gambling is Illegal

While most of Europe is either legalizing and regulating online gambling or working towards it, South Africa has gone to the other side completely and the South African Supreme Court of Appeals has deemed online gambling illegal. This marks an unhappy day for online gaming enthusiasts in South Africa.

Piggs Peak Online Casino appealed to the South African Supreme Court. The company is located and licensed outside of South African jurisdiction and they challenged the law that prohibited residents of South Africa from gambling online. Despite losing every hearing, they continued to appeal but it seems that even though they did try hard, their efforts were met in vain. The court ruled that until the government finalizes a new series of laws which will include licenses to operate online casinos within the country, all online gambling will be considered illegal. The punishment to players who gambling online from South Africa is as severe as up to 10 years in prison and a R10 million fine.

It seems that this heavy hand is a response to actually trying to work towards legalizing and regulating online gambling. In 2008, the National Gambling Amendment Act was signed into law and outlines a plan for allowing South Africa to issue gambling licenses to South African online casinos. Until the industry is regulated and legal, the government has made it clear that no gambling activities online will be tolerated.